Sarajevo
by only-some-loser
Summary: A Bosnian terrorist cell makes sure that Mac and Jack's Christmas doesn't go quite as smoothly as they would have liked, but maybe that's okay. (lots of hurt!Mac and protective!Jack)


**This is my first fic for this fandom, so I apologize for any characters being written OOC. This was supposed to go up before Christmas, but life kept getting in the way, so one day afterwards will have to do. Of course, the MacGyver Christmas episode implied that they spent Christmas in a Chinese prison, so this fic can be take either as an AU, or Christmas of next year. Anyways, I hope you like this, and please drop a review telling me what you think! Merry Christmas!**

 **(The title of this fic is not only where it takes place, but a Christmas song of the same name. I'm in an orchestra, and we played this song for our Christmas concert. It's actually what inspired this piece. You can listen to it here watch?v=MHioIlbnS_A )**

 **MACGYVER2016**

It started out much more simply than it had become. It was supposed to be a simple rescue mission. Go in, rescue the ambassador from the terrorist cell, get out. The only reason that Thornton had asked them to do it was because there was no American military presence in Bosnia, and tensions were rising there. It was too dangerous if an agent was to be caught and connected to the American government. Due to the covert nature of the Phoenix Foundation, it was easier to disavow anyone if they were captured. To put it simply, they were more expendable. But it wasn't as if anyone expected things to go south, especially the way they had.

Reaching the building their intel had said the ambassador was being kept in had been easy, and sneaking into it had been even easier, especially with the help of Riley remotely unlocking most of the doors from the safety of their hotel a mile away. In retrospect, it was too easy, and that should've been their first clue. The problems had truly arisen upon arriving at the precise room where the ambassador was. It wasn't that he wasn't there, because he definitely was, it was just that he had a bullet straight through his head.

The next thing Mac knew, Jack had pushed him to the ground and was fighting off a man that evidently had been about to shoot Mac. He jumped up to help Jack fend off the next man that entered the room. He was able to easily knock out the man, but not in time to save Jack from the next, who was able to grab his arm, bend it behind him, and pop his shoulder out of its socket, earning a shout of pain in return.

"Jack!" Mac called out, delivering a swift punch to the Bosnian man's temple, effectively knocking him out. "You okay?" he asked, his eyes full of concern for his partner. It may have been Jack that was paid to protect Mac, but that didn't mean that Mac didn't try to return the favor, and hate himself when he failed to.

"I'll be fine kid don't worry. It's just dislocated," Jack replied.

" _Just_ dislocated? That's supposed to put my mind at ease?"

"Well we don't have time to worry about it right now man. Right now, we gotta go. Come on bro."

Jack was holding his right arm tight to his chest as he took off, Mac only a few steps behind him. Mac could tell he was in some pretty serious pain, but there wasn't much they could do about it at the moment. Jack was right. Once they were picked up by the extraction team, they could deal with it.

Everything that happened next was a bit of a blur, but it ended with MacGyver and Jack escaping the building, and running for their lives while Jack tried to explain to Riley what had happened. This was not how Mac had envisioned spending Christmas - well, Christmas Eve.

"The ambassador's dead. We were set up!" Jack shouted into his comm as the two of them ran down the street of the European city. If it had been under better circumstances, Mac would've loved to actually look at the buildings he was passing. Sarajevo was a city rich in culture and character, and most of the buildings were pretty old. Mac was pulled back from his silent musings by distant shouting in Bosnian, probably the guys chasing them. For now, it seemed as though they'd lost them, but that probably wouldn't last long.

"Where's the extraction team Riley? They should be here," Mac said into his comm, coming to a stop in a deserted town square.

"We can't reach them on any of our comms. None of them are responding, and their GPS's are gone. There's no sign of them anywhere over there either?" Riley answered.

"No, Ri, they're gone," Jack replied.

"But _they're_ not," Mac said, pointing out towards a group of Bosnian terrorists a block away. Luckily there only seemed to be four of them, and they hadn't yet noticed the Americans. "Riley we need somewhere to go. They have assault rifles and Jack has a handgun. We won't last long."

"The only place I can guarantee is clear is the forest. I'd say go there. You can probably lose them there until we can get a team over to get you."

"Alright Mac you better start runnin', 'cause I think our Bosnian friends have noticed us," Jack said, gesturing towards the terrorists, who in turn were gesturing towards them.

"No Jack I'm not running until you are," Mac replied, stubborn as always.

"Well at least get down behind that fountain, like now!"

Jack pushed MacGyver towards the fountain in the middle of the square, and gripped his handgun tightly, pulling it up and sending a few rounds flying towards the terrorists, effectively taking down two of them. In return, the remaining two Bosnians sent a volley of bullets from their AK-47s towards the two agents.

Jack was ducking behind a thick stone bench when he heard a sharp intake of breath from his partner.

"Mac!" he shouted out.

There was no response.

He quickly popped up above the bench, and took out the remaining Bosnians with only two more shots.

"Mac!" he called out again, this time turning towards his partner, and running over towards the fountain where Mac lay. "Hey buddy you gotta talk to me here," he said.

Mac just groaned.

"Guys what happened? Is everything okay?" came Riley's voice from Jack's comm. "Guys," she repeated.

"Riley you need to get the extraction team here ASAP. Mac's been shot, and it's bad," Jack said, now staring at the blood pouring out just above the side of Mac's left knee.

"No, I'll be fine," Mac groaned. "Help me up. We have to get to the forest to wait for the team. Someone will have heard the gunshots." Mac sat up, and was about to stand before Jack stopped him.

"Woah buddy take it easy. Do you not see all this blood? It looks like the bullet went all the way through, and it may have nicked an artery. You need to take this seriously, and you can't act like you're just gonna be fine immediately. You hearin' me? This is serious," Jack stressed. He knew that MacGyver had a nasty habit of not letting people know how seriously he was injured, but when something was this bad, there was no time for that. Jack knew this was worse than normal, and if he was being honest with himself, he was more terrified right now than he had been in a long time. He would never let the kid know that though, of course.

Mac looked down again at his leg, then briefly locked eyes with Jack. In that split second, Jack swore he saw something in Mac's eyes that he almost never saw. Fear. It seemed that Mac had finally grasped the reality of the situation, and knew he couldn't play this one off like normal.

"Guys, since the extraction team we had vanished, the new one can't be there for another hour. You need to do everything you can to get to forest and hide. There are more terrorists heading your way. Jack, you're gonna have to take care of Mac until they get to you."

"Well taking care of Mac is kind of my job, but I'm not so sure he has an hour."

"Jack you're going to have to try. This is our best shot."

"Go get one of their coats," Mac interjected, motioning with his head towards the dead terrorists.

Jack immediately ran over to one of them, and worked the dead man's arms out of the coat.

"Wrap it around my leg, as tight as you can," Mac continued, holding one hand over the entry wound of the bullet, and another hand over the exit wound. Blood continued to pour out around his hands. Mac wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was scared. He'd already lost a lot of blood, and the only way he would be saved from losing more was by wrapping a coat around the wounds. He was already starting to feel the effects of blood loss. His mind wasn't as coherent as it should have been, which was probably what was stopping him from coming up with some way for Jack to make a fire hot enough to cauterize the GSWs.

Jack ran back over with the coat, but hesitated in wrapping it around Mac's knee.

"Just do it Jack. I know it'll hurt," Mac said. He let out a hiss of pain as he bent his knee a bit to give Jack more room to wrap the coat around.

Jack folded the bottom half of the coat up, wrapped it around the wounds as tightly as he could, and tied it in place with the sleeves.

"Guys you have to get to better cover _now_ ," came Riley's voice into their earpieces. "Someone will have heard all that gunfire, and it will only be so long until more of the cell finds you. But I contacted the new extraction team, and they should be there in less than a hour, so that's some good news. How's Mac holding up?"

Jack sighed.

"As well as can be expected from him. This is Mac we're talking about, he'll be fine," he said, trying to convince himself more than Riley.

"I hope so," she replied. "I'll keep you updated on the status of the extraction team."

"Roger that." Jack looked back at the blonde on the ground. "Alright bro we gotta get movin'," he said, crouching down to his partner. Jack tried to make eye contact, but Mac wasn't having it. He was refusing to meet Jack's eyes. "Hey man come on."

"Jack, I-." He stopped, and kept staring at his bloody leg. "You have to go, now."

"Yeah man that's what I'm saying. We both do, now come on," Jack reiterated.

"No, Jack, I mean..." he trailed off again. "I mean you have to leave me here." As Jack opened his mouth to protest, Mac continued. "You're right. I can't walk. I know that. Your arm is dislocated, so you can't help me walk or even carry me. You have to go. Leaving me here is the only chance you've got."

Jack stared at Mac like he grew another head. What on earth was this kid thinking? How could he ever believe that Jack was going to leave him? Mac meant more to him than anything or anyone else in the world. What scared Jack the most was the fact that Mac was admitting that he already knew he couldn't walk. Mac had an unreasonably high tolerance for pain, so for him to admit something was this severe meant that he was in more pain than most people would be able to take without passing out. Knowing that his partner was in that much pain made Jack's heart ache, since he also knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"That's not happening and you know it. When are you gonna get it through your head that if you go out, so do I. It's all or nothing bro. There is no force on this planet that could keep me from being with you until the end of the line. Are you hearin' me man?"

Jack knew he was getting awfully dramatic, but if that's what it took for Mac to understand this, then that was fine with him.

"Now you're gonna think of something to get you out too. I know you're hurtin', and you're not up to the top of your game 'cause of how much blood you've lost, but you need to think of something," Jack finished.

Mac finally made eye contact, albeit shortly, and nodded. Jack took another glance down at Mac's mess of a leg. The bleeding had slowed substantially, but death via exsanguination was still a very real possibility if the extraction team didn't get there faster than expected.

"These buildings here are all abandoned right?" Mac asked.

At Jack's nod, he continued, "break into one, and find the largest piece of plywood you can."

Jack immediately ran up to the nearest building, and started kicking at the wood boarding up the window. After a few kicks, the wood was broken off, along with the glass. He climbed through, and started searching for a large piece of plywood. Luckily for him, the ground was littered with it. The hard part would be finding a large enough piece, and getting it through the window.

After about a minute of searching, Jack found a piece about five by six feet. He used a plank of wood to break the rest of the glass away from the window, pushed the plywood through, and set it on the ground outside. Climbing through himself, Jack winced at the pain his dislocated shoulder was in from the constant movement. Mac was right. There's no way Jack would have been able to support Mac's weight from either having Mac lean on him, or carrying him. He just hoped that whatever was going on in the kid's head could save his life.

"Is this good?" Jack asked his partner.

"Yeah it's perfect. Here's my belt," Mac said, handing Jack his own belt, and his Swiss Army knife. "Cut a hole two inches from the top of the tall side of the board, in the middle, large enough to stick my belt through."

Jack did what he was told without question. He had learned long ago to trust Mac on whatever that crazy mind of his came up with. Not trusting your partner is what got you both killed.

Once Jack had cut a properly sized hole in the plywood, he handed the knife back to Mac, and pulled the belt through the hole.

"Okay, now you're gonna latch the belt through the closest hole." Mac paused, waiting for Jack to do it. "Now comes the hard part," he said.

"Well it's not like this whole experience has exactly been daisies, so I'm sure it can't be that hard," Jack chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"No, Jack, I mean that is going to be hard for me. I have to climb onto that makeshift sled, and you're gonna pull me to forest with your good arm," Mac replied. Once again, he would only briefly meet Jack's eyes. It was a nervous habit Jack had noticed not that long after meeting him. The kid did it whenever he felt either scared, alone, or guilty.

"Hey man, it's gonna be okay. I'm here, and I'm gonna get you out of here. Just let your leg be limp, and use your arms to push yourself over to it, okay?"

"Alright," Mac nodded. "Let's just get this over with."

Jack maneuvered the makeshift sled into position, and nodded at his partner to move. As much as Jack would've preferred to let Mac take as much time as he needed, time was still of the essence.

The moment Mac started to move, he closed his eyes, and bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain. Jack hated that there was nothing more he could do, knowing that every little movement Mac made was probably making his leg throb more and more.

Soon enough, although it felt like an eternity to both parties, Mac was laying down on the plywood sled, with his head by the belt. Although that position wasn't conducive to stopping further blood loss, it was easier to hold on from, which was a slightly higher priority in that moment. It was better for Mac to be able to hold on and lose a little more blood, than to fall off and lose a lot more blood.

"You ready kid?" Jack hesitantly asked, knowing it would take a moment for Mac to deal with the pain all that movement had caused on his leg.

"Yeah. Go," he replied, teeth clenched.

Jack didn't need any other words, and started dragging his partner on the sled to the forest about forty feet away.

"Wow kid, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you're so scrawny. If you weren't so freakin' skinny, this wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world. Lucky for you, you have zero fat on your whole body," Jack chuckled.

After a moment without a reply, he glanced down at the blonde, expecting a glare at the very least. Mac would rarely take something like that from Jack without cracking a sarcastic comment in return, so his silence was worrying. What was even more worrying was his pale face, and half closed eyes. The loss of blood was starting to have more serious effects.

"Hey Riley, you there?" Jack said into his earpiece.

"I hear you loud and clear. How's Mac?" came the young woman's reply.

"He's not looking so good Ri. What's the ETA on the extraction team?"

"Half an hour, minimum, but they are coming with an evac, so there's some good news for you."

"Try to get them to hurry up. I'm not sure how long our boy has," Jack said quietly.

"Trust me, I'm trying."

After a moment, Jack whispered, "I know."

They reached the forest a moment later, but Jack knew he had to get far enough into it to get some decent cover. There was a downed tree about ten feet away. Jack pulled his partner to the tree and around it, dropping the end of the belt he was dragging the plywood sled with and stretching his fingers out from their cramped position.

Jack down at his young partner, pale and unmoving. That was maybe the worst part of it all. Mac had always had a hard time staying still. Seeing him so still now brought light to how serious his situation was. Jack shuddered at the thought of what could happen to Mac if the extraction team didn't come fast enough. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost Mac. He was everything to Jack. A best friend, a little brother, even a son sometimes. Losing him was not an option. Not if Jack had anything to say about it.

"Hey man, you gotta open your eyes. You can't fall asleep, not with how much blood you've lost," he said, sitting down against the log next to his partner.

"But I'm so tired Jack," came the whispered reply.

"I know I know buddy, but you have to," Jack replied. "Come on man, I'll help you sit up," he said, jumping over the downed tree and hooking his arms under Mac's shoulders. He knew this wouldn't make his dislocated shoulder feel too great, but it was worth it to keep his partner alive. "Alright buddy, on three. One..."

He pulled Mac up to sitting position, with only a sharp intake of breath as an acknowledgment of his own pain, while Mac let out a loud groan to voice his own.

"I know it hurts Mac, and I'm so sorry I can't do anything about it. Just try and stay awake for me okay? Can you do that for me?"

Mac only nodded weakly in response. Jack moved from his position next to Mac, to sitting next to his leg, gently taking hold of the blood soaked coat covering the GSWs. Mac let out a small whimper, his head listing to the side.

"I'm sorry bud, but I have to try to stop the bleeding more. The coat wrapped around it helped a lot, but it needs a bit more."

Jack took another look at his blonde partner, who of course hadn't responded. He was trying to keep himself together for the kid's sake, but it was proving to be difficult. Mac was fading fast.

"Why don't you tell me about the first science fair you ever won? I'd love to hear that story," Jack said, trying to do anything to keep Mac awake. Of course, Jack knew exactly what happened. What didn't he know about the kid? But it was a good story, and something that could keep Mac talking for a while.

After a bit of prodding, Jack got MacGyver to start the story, and made sure to pay attention to both what Mac was saying, and how much blood was still coming out of the wound. Mac only stopped talking when the sound of loud shouting in Bosnian could be heard from the abandoned square. They had found their dead cell members. But soon enough, the shouting faded away, and Mac continued.

Jack wasn't sure quite how long it had been, but soon enough, Mac's story was over, and he was once again struggling to stay awake.

"I'm sorry this Christmas has been so crappy Mac. I would do anything to fix all of this for you. In a perfect world, we'd all be together, and watching Die Hard in your living room. It totally counts as a Christmas movie," Jack said, more to himself than to Mac.

"No, Jack," he responded.

"Alright then, we wouldn't _have_ to watch Die Hard. We could watch anything you wanted I guess, even a documentary about ants if that's what you really wanted."

"No, I mean it's okay. I wouldn't want to spend Christmas any other way." At Jack's look of confusion, Mac continued. "I'm with you, and that's the best thing I could ever want. You're my best friend. I can go to you for anything and you're always there. You're the closest thing I have to a big brother. You always look out for me and protect me. You're a better father than I've ever had, and I wouldn't want to die beside anyone else."

Mac went quiet, and didn't bother to wipe away the single tear that made its way down his face. Throughout Mac's declaration, Jack's heart both broke and swelled at the same time. How could he be so deserving of a friend like him? Mac was the best thing that ever happened to him, and Jack knew he didn't deserve him as a friend, but somehow, he had him anyway. It was incredible to hear how much Mac cared for him in paralleling ways to how he cared about Mac. He knew it was only the blood loss talking, and Mac would never say all of this out loud if he was in perfect health, but the fact of the matter was was that he wasn't, and he did say it. There was only one thing he was wrong about...

"Now you listen Mac, you are not gonna die. Not on my watch. I love you too, and it's because of that that I'm never going to let you die. You have to fight this. Soon enough, the extraction team is gonna be here with an evac, and you'll be good as new. Okay Mac?"

Mac nodded in response, but his eyes slowly closed, and didn't open.

"Come on Mac, stay here. Stay with me," Jack pleaded. He went to check Mac's pulse when Riley's voice came into his earpiece.

"The extraction team should be there any minute."

"Thanks Ri but we need seconds not minutes. Mac passed out and I'm not sure how long he has left," Jack said, his voice cracking at the end. "His pulse is still there, but it's fading fast. He needs that evac _now_." Jack carded his fingers through Mac's hair. "Come on bud, stay with me. You gotta pull through this Angus. Come on," he repeated.

Jack stopped what he was doing when he heard it. A helicopter. The extraction team was finally there with the evac.

"Oh thank God. Riley they're here," Jack said.

He could hear Riley breath a sigh of relief.

"I'll find out what hospital you're being taken to and meet you there," she said.

"Sounds good."

Anything that involved Mac getting medical attention sounded good.

As the helicopter touched down in the town square, and various agents or members of the military - Jack couldn't tell which - surrounded it for protection, Jack's vision started to fade. His shoulder was throbbing, and he was exhausted. He knew Mac would be okay now, so it couldn't hurt to close his eyes for a second... or two... or three...

* * *

Jack awoke to a sound of regulated beeping. About every second there was a soft beep, lulling him in and out of sleep. Opening his eyes, Jack was created with a white ceiling in a dimly lit room.

All at once, Jack remembered what had happened in Sarajevo.

"Mac," he said - well, tried to. Jack's throat was too dry to let out anything more than a whisper.

He slowly sat up, and looked to his right. There, on the other hospital bed, lay his young partner. Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Mac was alive, and judging by the steady beeps and lack of doctors surrounding him, he was going to make it.

Jack went to pick up the water bottle on the small table by his bed when he realized that his right arm was in a sling. At least he was unconscious when they reset his shoulder.

Taking a swig of the water, Jack moved from his position in bed to a chair that he quickly dragged over to the side of MacGyver's bed. It was there that he would wait for him to wake up, no matter how long it took. He took a light hold of Mac's left hand with his own, and prepared to wait.

Mac looked significantly better than in the the forest, but he was still far too pale for Jack's liking. He couldn't tell, since Mac's leg was under the sheets of the bed, but he assumed it was taken care of via surgery, and casted. Jack assumed a blood transfusion and surgery to repair the cut artery was what was required to heal his partner. Whatever it took, Jack was just glad it happened. He would walk to the ends of the earth to get Mac whatever he needed to be okay.

After dozing off a few times, Jack felt a slight pressure change on the hand that was holding Mac's. That got him very alert very quickly.

"Mac," he said, more as a question than anything else.

The blonde moaned in response.

"Hey buddy, I'm here. Come back to me man. Open your eyes," Jack gently prodded.

Slowly, Mac opened his eyes, as if it took all of his strength for that one movement.

"Jack," he said. "You okay?"

Of course, after everything he went through, the first thing Mac would ask was about Jack's health, and not his own. How very typical of him.

"Yeah buddy I'm fine. I'm gonna call the doctor in to check on you," Jack said, moving to let go of Mac's hand and press the call button on his bed.

"No," Mac protested, gripping Jack's hand tightly. "I just wanna say something first."

"Sure man, whatever you need," Jack replied, moving back to his original position by Mac's bed.

"I meant what I said. About Christmas I mean. I don't care what's happening. As long as you're around, any Christmas is a good one. I know I probably wouldn't have said all of that if it weren't for losing so much blood, but I really meant it. Every single word. Merry Christmas Jack," Mac said, finishing with a weak smile.

"What would I do without you kid? But I promise you, once we get out of here and back stateside, we'll celebrate Christmas for real, with Riley and Bozer and Thornton too. Besides, I got you a pretty sweet present," Jack replied, a wide smile plastered across his face. "But for now, let's just focus on getting you better, okay?"

Jack pressed the call button on the bed, but didn't move from where he was by his partner. Once the doctors got there, they could tell him everything he needed to know to take care of Mac, and he could tell the doctor to let in Riley, who was probably waiting for them in the waiting room.

Jack let his mind drift for a moment, thinking of how much his life had changed once it had Mac in it. The kid has truly made an irreversible impact on him, and made him a better person. It was literally his job to protect him, and that was a job he took very seriously. When he failed his job, he failed Mac, and that wasn't okay with him. But even though he messed up sometimes, Mac always found a way to make him feel better, whether it was cracking a joke, or losing so much blood that he told Jack how much he meant to him, it always helped. They may not talk about it often, but they did have a beautiful bond of brotherly love, and there was nothing in the world that could ever break that bond.

Jack kept his light grip on Mac's hand, waiting for the doctor to return. Outside the window with its blinds drawn, snow lightly fell from the clouds, reflecting light, and illuminating the beautiful Christmas Day.


End file.
